Conflict in Adolescent Friendships Across Cultures: Indonesia, South Korea and the United States

Traditionally, adolescence is conceptualized as a period of turmoil during which adolescents are moody, hostile and behave in maladaptive ways. In reality, this stage of development is not as terrible as the stereotypes suggest. Of particular interest during this time is an adolescent\u27s experience of rapid physical, cognitive, and social changes which necessitate interpersonal adjustment to maintain positive relationships with others (Collins & Laursen, 1992). During this developmental period, there is a transformation in children\u27s networks of interpersonal relationships in that there is a substantial increase in the relative importance of friends as confidants while dependence on parents falls as adolescents transfer allegiance to their peers (Buhnnester, 1996; Rothbaum, Pott, Azuma, Miyake, & Weisz, 2000; Berndt, 1982, French, Rianasari, Pidada, Newlan, & Buhnnester, 2001). These changes in social networks are accompanied by the powerful biological and emotional changes of puberty which can exacerbate the difficulties of this period (Gottman & Mettetal, 1986). Although it is generally agreed upon that these processes are common to Western cultures, they may not be universal across other culture